Work

Host Associations ofIxodes scapularis(Acari: Ixodidae) in Residential and Natural Settings in a Lyme Disease-Endemic Area in New Jersey

Year: 2005

Type: article

Abstract: We live-trapped small mammals and flagged vegetation within wooded natural and residential landscapes to examine how any observed differences in small mammal species composition may influence Ixodes scapularis Say burdens and the abundance of host-seeking ticks. Two years of live trapping showed that Eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus, were captured with significantly greater frequency in some residential areas than white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, whereas the proportion of white-footed mouse captures was higher or similar to chipmunk captures in the undeveloped natural areas. Both mice and chipmunks seemed to adapt well to managed residential landscapes, with residential sites yielding similar or significantly greater numbers of captures compared with undeveloped sites. In areas where chipmunk captures outnumbered mice, larval tick burdens on mice were either higher or no different than in areas where few or no chipmunks were captured, in contrast to previous studies suggesting that alternate hosts should reduce larval burdens on mice. Chipmunks apparently play an important role in the Lyme disease transmission cycle in these residential settings.

Source: Journal of Medical Entomology

DOI: 10.1093/jmedent/42.6.966

Authors: Terry L. Schulze, Robert A. Jordan, Christopher J. Schulze

Institution: New Jersey Department of Health

Language: English

Topic: Vector-borne infectious diseases

Subfield: Parasitology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,328

Funders: State of New Jersey Department of Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention